


5 Times Tony Told Pepper He Loved Her and One Time He Didn’t

by fandomfrolics



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 19:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1009326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomfrolics/pseuds/fandomfrolics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three little words over the years</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Tony Told Pepper He Loved Her and One Time He Didn’t

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marie_Nomad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Nomad/gifts).



> Dialogue between the *s is lifted directly from Iron Man 2.

_"Those three words_

_Are said too much_

_They're not enough"_

-Snow Patrol, _Chasing Cars_

 

1.

The first time Pepper met Tony, like _really_ met him, it was in his basement. Which sounded just a little like the beginning of a bad Stranger Danger PSA but Tony’s ‘basement’ was a fascinating multi-million dollar facility at the bottom of his breathtaking multi-million dollar home so Pepper figured that all told, it wouldn’t be that bad of a place to be kidnapped and chopped into a million little pieces.

Didn’t help that the man had an ass that looked like _that._

“Good afternoon, Ms. Potts.”

Pepper jumped, nearly dousing herself and her files in piping hot coffee. She spun around to shoot one of her patented glares at the source of the mysterious British voice but found none. Her brow creased in consternation but she cleared her throat and straightened her blouse and set her path for the man she _could_ see.

The blaring music got even louder as she approached, ducking under strange blue projections floating mid-air and dodging nimble around workbenches cluttered with parts.

“He-hello?” she tried once got within two feet of the man’s back. He was hunched over something that was sending up a worrying amount of sparks. “Mr. Stark?” She stepped a little closer and raised her voice further, reaching out one arm to tap him on the shoulder. “Mr-” The music abruptly cut out. “-Stark. Oh.” She blushed as her voice rang out around the now silent space and dropped her hand.

The man straightened up and threw a welding mask off to one side. He tilted his head back and yelled at the ceiling, “JARVIS, what the hell?”

“Apologies, sir, but I did tell you multiple times that Ms. Potts was here.” The man spun around abruptly.

And there he was. Tony Stark. One of the wealthiest people in the world and now her one and only boss. God she hoped he wasn’t an asshole.

“Ooh, a redhead. Haven’t had one of those for awhile. I hope you’re the fiery type.”

Well, so much for that.

She cleared her throat again and opened her mouth but before she could snap out the witty comeback that was forming in her head his eyes widened and he leapt forward off his stool.

“Is that coffee?” he asked, cutting her off. Which probably was for the best, really. First days on the job were definitely not the place to be snapping at your boss, even if he was a misogynist ass.

She handed the cup in her hand to him and watched bemused as he sniffed at it carefully, settling back onto his stool. His face lit up and he lifted the cup to his lips. Pepper winced as he chugged the drink down, not coming up for air until it was all gone. She thoroughly hoped it had cooled significantly in the time it had taken her to make her way down here.

He plonked the cup down on the bench and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, then heaved a deep sigh, cocked his head up at her and said, “I think I love you.”

She frowned.

***

2.

This definitely was not in the description when she’d first spotted the notice for the job as Tony’s assistant. But, as long as she squashed down certain voices in her head, Pepper had to admit that it was sort of fun. Especially when the women were like this one.

“What are you, his fucking slave? Do you just crawl around after him and do whatever he asks?”

Pepper just held the door open with a polite smile.

“I mean, this is so pathetic. _He_ is so pathetic, he’s even more messed up than I’d heard. What, mommy didn’t love him? Who can blame her, really? He’s just-”

 “The elevator is down the hall on the left and the trash chute is right past it.” Pepper’s eyes glinted. “You can’t miss it.”

The woman edged past her, still muttering under her breath. It was only when she was about to step into the elevator did she freeze and snap her head back towards Pepper, fixing her with a glare. Pepper just waved. Only once the elevator doors closed, taking the nightmare with it, did Pepper turn around. She took a couple of steps forward, then paused as she spotted Tony crouched behind a door. He pointed at himself, traced a heart in the air with the index finger of each hand, then pointed at her, mouthing ‘I love you’.

She just rolled her eyes and continued on her way, fighting down the smile threatening to take over her face.

***

3.

God, he looked banged up. She didn’t even want to imagine how he looked when Rhodey had found him.

Pepper accepted the paper bag from the clerk at the window and unfolded it as Happy pulled away, taking them to the press conference. The smell of cheap beef and overly salted fries assaulted her and she flinched back, eliciting a laugh from Tony.

“Sit in a dank cave for two months and I guarantee you won’t have that reaction to Burger King ever again.”

She glanced at him, wincing internally at the wry smile on his face. “Tony-”

“If you’re going to give me that look you can at least give me a burger too,” he said, sticking his hands out and wiggling his fingers.

She bit her lip, guilt churning in her stomach, but turned back to the bag and dipped a well-manicured hand inside, extracting one of the messily wrapped packets. “Double cheeseburger, extra pickles, extra cheese,” she said as she handed it to him.

He let out a low groan of pleasure as he unwrapped the burger with gusto and lifted it to his mouth.

“This is why I love you,” he managed before his mouth was stuffed with a monstrous amount of meat and cheese.

***

4.

*“…she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that-”

“I need a new assistant,” Tony said, talking over Pepper as always when she was saying things he didn’t want to hear.

“Yes and I’ve got three excellent potential candidates that are lined up and ready to meet you.” She continued tapping away at her phone, fighting the urge to roll her eyes yet again.

“I don’t have time to meet, I need someone now. I feel like it’s her.”

“No, it’s not.” Pepper snapped her phone shut.*

Tony glanced at her. “Is this because you feel like I’m replacing you? Pep, you know I love you, right?”

This time Pepper did roll her eyes; so hard they felt like they were going to fall out of her head. She fixed her glare forwards, away from the sweaty, _smug_ , ass sitting next to her.

***

5.

“Pepper, you’ve been with me for…I mean, even before we started…for years you’ve been the only…what I’m trying to say is…what I really wanted to tell you was-”

“What are you doing?”

Tony jumped about six feet in the air. Pepper stifled a laugh as he whirled around, away from the full-length mirror on the wall.

“Pepper!” She walked further into the room towards him, kicking off her heels as she went. God, is she glad she went for _this_ carpet in Tony's bedroom, even if it did cost thousands of dollars more. “What are you doing here?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’ve kind of been living here the past couple of months.” She stopped in front of him and tilted her head up, needing his comfort after her incredibly long day.

“No, I mean…” He leaned down and pecked her on the lips. “I thought you weren’t coming home for a couple of hours at least.”

“Meeting was going nowhere and I have a killer headache so I requested we call it day.”

“Requested, huh?” he said, stroking the hair away from her forehead.

“Okay fine,” she acquiesced, leaning into his soothing touch. “Demanded.”

He snorted and wrapped an arm around her waist. “C’mon,” he said, tugging her gently towards the bed, “how about I give you a massage and you forget I ever put you in charge of a company full of idiots.”

“Hold on,” she said, resisting his pull. “What were you doing when I came in?”

Tony dropped his arm. He instantly looked sheepish, intriguing Pepper even more. “I was just… I was trying to come up with the best way to say something. But really the best way to say it is to just say it. So…”

He glanced away for a moment and when he looked back, the intensity in his eyes took Pepper’s breath away. He stepped forward, completely closing the gap between them and rested one hand on her cheek.

“Pepper,” he started softly, the word a whisper over her skin. She swallowed hard. “I love you.”

That was it. Three simple words, words he’d thrown her way dozens of times before he’d really even learned her name. But somehow, here in this room, faces dipped low together until their breath grew so tangled that it felt like the air was just moving from one pair of lungs to the other, they sounded like she was hearing them for the first time.

Because she was.

***

+1.

She put the helmet back on and listened to the message again, trying to focus on the words this time instead of letting the sheer relief of just hearing Tony’s voice drown out everything else in her head.

He didn’t say it, in the end, those three words that had changed their meaning for them over the years, growing upwards and sideways as their relationship twisted and turned and tangled. He didn’t say it but she hadn’t even noticed because he’d _said_ it, said it in every rambling sentence, every shaky inhale, every pause between thoughts, he’d said it over and over again.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

And I’m sorry.


End file.
